A seasonal music camp for adults - DASC leads the way as a non-competitive, non-auditioned, educational orchestra for adult string players.

Lindsay teaches private violin and viola lessons from her home studio in Denver, Colorado and is the

Outreach and Education Coordinator for Augustana Arts. She is currently President-Elect for

Colorado American String Teachers Association. Prior to these positions, she taught orchestra at the

public school level, most recently as an elementary and middle school orchestra director at

Westminster Public Schools. Prior to this position, she served as the Head Orchestra Director at

Mapleton Public Schools and taught at El Sistema Colorado as the String Teaching Artist.   

Lindsay is very active in the music education community. She is currently the Outreach and

Education Coordinator for Augustana Arts – City Strings, helping bring music education to

underserved communities, is the President-Elect for the Colorado American String Teachers

Association, is on the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Private Studio Committee,

served as a mentor for the ASTA New Teacher Mentor Program and has served as the Secretary of

the Colorado American String Teachers Association. She is a published author in the ASTA Journal

and has presented sessions at the American String Teachers Association National Conference, the

Colorado Music Educators Association Conference as well as the Colorado American String

Teachers Association Summer Conference.

She was the recipient of the Mapleton Public School’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2015 and was

given the Colorado American String Teachers Association’s Exemplary Middle School and Junior

High School Teacher Award in 2012. 

Lindsay can be seen performing on her viola throughout Colorado in a variety of capacities. Most

recently, Lindsay performed with the Boulder Symphony Orchestra as principal viola, the Denver

Philharmonic where she played both section violist and principal violist, Stratus Chamber Orchestra

Arapahoe Philharmonic, Evergreen Chamber Orchestra and the Grand Junction Symphony

Orchestra.

Joseph Engel is a performer and educator in Colorado. He has a background in classical and contemporary cello styles, and is always seeking new sound worlds with the cello. He is a member of the Denver based eclectic-rock band, "Milquetoast & Co." and has shared the stage with artists such as The Sugar Hill Gang and Wilco. As an educator, Joseph incorporates many teaching philosophies, including those inspired by non-western musics and meditation. He holds a Masters of Music in cello performance from Denver University, where he has acted as a visiting lecturer.

Olasuyi Ige is a violinist and an inspiring educator who received his Bachelor’s
in Violin Performance from the University of Denver Lamont School of Music
(Manga Cum Laude). He is currently pursuing his Masters in violin performance and composition at the Lamont School of Music under the instruction of Igor Pikayzen and Sean Friar.

As a violinist, Olasuyi has performed many works by Beethoven, Brahms,
William Grant Still, Mozart, and Wieniawski. Venues that Olasuyi has performed in includes Dazzle Jazz Club, Gates Concert Hall, and Hamilton Recital Hall. Olasuyi enjoys working with the nonprofit organization called El Sistema Colorado that provides group and private music lessons to underrepresented youth in the Denver area. Teaching is one of Olasuyi’s passions and he enjoys seeing previous and current students share their love for music and learning.

Over the years he has been to many music festivals such as Pacific Region International Summer Music Academy (PRISMA) in Powell River, Canada, Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, and Sphinx Summer Academy in Chicago, Illinois.

When he is not performing or teaching Olasuyi likes to write and arrange
chamber music for both chamber groups and larger ensembles.

Violinist FRITZ GEARHART has performed for audiences from coast to coast. He has appeared in major halls around the country including the Kennedy Center, the 92ndStreet Y in NYC, Alice Tully Hall, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie. He is heard frequently on National Public Radio, including live broadcasts on WFMT Chicago, WQXR in New York, KQAC in Portland Oregon,  as well as Public Radio’s nationally syndicated program Performance Today. A sampling from the press: "...a sizzling performance..."(The Wall Street Journal),  "...supple and imaginative..."(The New York Times), "...a superlative evening of musicmaking..."(New York Concert Review), and "Gearhart is a bold assertive player..."(Strad).

Gearhart has had a rich career in chamber music performing, including membership in the Chester Quartet and the Oregon String Quartet which recorded compact discs for Albany, Koch Entertainment, Centaur Records. His 2014 release on Centaur Records, Music of a Lifetime, features the music of his father Livingston Gearhart. Mr. Gearhart has performed complete cycles of the Beethoven String Quartets and the Beethoven Violin Sonatas.

Gearhart taught at the university level for most of his career, including appointments at University of Colorado Boulder, University of Oregon, East Carolina University and Indiana University at South Bend. Gearhart has been a featured clinician at music conventions and workshops for National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Conference, American String Teachers Association (ASTA), and National School Orchestra Association (NSOA), and has presented master classes at music schools all around the country, including Texas Christian University, Boise State University, Ithaca College, UNC Greensboro, University of Oklahoma, Eastman School of Music, and the Hartt School, among many others. Gearhart was a judge for the National Fischoff Competition in 2008 and has been a featured clinician at several national conventions including ASTA in Detroit, Kansas City and Santa Clara, CA where he was also the featured chamber music coach. In addition to his many performing and teaching activities, Gearhart has also appeared as a guest conductor several string festivals around the country, including South Carolina All-State String Orchestra, Northern Virginia Honors Orchestra, Wyoming String Clinic, and All-City Strings in Salem, OR.  Professor Gearhart has recently started a new nonprofit —the Redfish Music Festival, which presents a summer festival on the southern coast of Oregon, as well as special events throughout the year.

Gearhart received his Master's Degree and prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Donald Weilerstein. Earlier studies at the Hartt School included work with Charles Treger and members of the Emerson Quartet. Mr. Gearhart currently resides in the Denver area.

Originally from El Paso, Texas, Fred Jewell received a Bachelor of Music Education

degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1987 and continued studies toward a

Master of Music Education. Fred began his teaching career as a Suzuki Talent Education

violin teacher in 1980 in El Paso. He later expanded his teaching to include violin

instruction at the El Paso Hebrew Day School teaching the entire student body of ninety-

five students ranging from Kindergarten through Fifth Grade and later as the Orchestra

Director at H. E. Charles Middle School in the El Paso Independent School District. He

studied violin for ten years with Abraham Chavez, Jr. and conducting with Maestro

Chavez and Dr. Ron Hufstader at UTEP. Fred maintained a private Suzuki violin studio

in El Paso and later in Boulder, Colorado for over two decades. Fred has been a resident

of Colorado since 1994. Fred retired from classroom teaching in June 2022 after twenty-

eight years in Boulder Valley School District, two years at H. E. Charles Middle School,

and five years at the El Paso Hebrew Day School. Several of his former students in Texas

and in Colorado have gone on to pursue professional teaching careers as Suzuki, private,

public school and university music teachers and as professional performers. Fred

reopened his private studio in Thornton, CO in June 2022.

In El Paso, Fred performed with the El Paso Symphony for fifteen seasons. He was also a

member of the Viva! El Paso Outdoor Musical Drama for two seasons, a performer and

member of the Board of Directors for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of El Paso, Inc. for

twelve years and a violinist with El Paso Pro Musica for four seasons. He also performed

with the El Paso Early Music Consort playing violin, vielle, and percussion and as a

vocalist. In Colorado, he substituted as a violinist with the Boulder Philharmonic

Orchestra for two seasons between 1994 and 1996. In 2003 Fred was hired as

Concertmaster for the Denver Pops Orchestra under the direction of Zina Richardson and

performed with DPO until May of 2009. Fred now performs with the Longmont

Symphony Orchestra as Asst. Principal Viola under the direction of Dr. Elliot Moore.

From 1999 until 2016, Fred served on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Chapter of

the American String Teachers’ Association as the String Vibrations Newsletter Editor. He

returned to a Colorado ASTA Board serving as one of two Denver area Representatives

for two years. Fred has also served as Northern Governor for Colorado All-State

Orchestra Board of Governors. Fred has been nominated twice for the Colorado ASTA,

Inc. Outstanding Teacher of the Year. Fred was most recently honored with the 2012

Colorado ASTA, Inc. Exemplary High School Teacher Award.

Fred has done extensive work with the Board of Directors of the Trouble Clef Theatre

Company, a fully professional theatre company based in Boulder. TCTC produced

several shows in the Greater Denver Metro area for over six seasons specializing in

shows by Stephen Sondheim. Fred is also a founding member of the Eagle String Quartet

affiliated with St. John’s Episcopal Church in Boulder.

As a student of Dr. Joseph Packales, Fred is a free-lance composer of string, keyboard

and vocal music. Fred has seen his works performed in public and private settings by

ensembles such as the Ars Nova Singers, the Eagle String Quartet, several Colorado

school orchestras, and many individual professional musicians.

Max Tuning has been playing the violin for the past 13 years. Throughout his primary schooling he participated in not only orchestra but Tenor-Bass Choir, Mixed Voice Choir, Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Theater. His passion for teaching music led him to attend and graduate from The University of Colorado Boulder acquiring a bachelor's degree in Music Education with an emphasis in string instrument studies. During his time at CU Boulder, Tuning studied violin with Claude Sim and Alexander Gonzalez. 

Following his graduation, Tuning was hired as an orchestra teacher for 6th and 7th grade in the Mapleton Public School district where he currently teaches three beginning 6th grade orchestra classes and the intermediate 7th grade Sinfonia Orchestra.

Amber's journey with music began in kindergarten when she was introduced to the violin through Suzuki in the Schools. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Over the years, she has played with nearly a dozen orchestras across the country at both collegiate and professional levels and has been teaching private violin lessons since 2010. Amber’s teaching approach is well-rounded and inspiring, driven by her constant curiosity and willingness to explore new ideas and playing styles from fellow educators and mentors. After her son was born in 2020, Amber discovered the magic of Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) classes. She completed training with Danette Warren and Sharon Jones and began partner-teaching SECE classes alongside Vanessa Vari at Suzuki Strings of Denver. This experience deepened her passion for nurturing early musical development in babies, a passion that now complements her dedication to teaching violin. In addition to her teaching, Amber serves as secretary on the board of the Suzuki Association of Colorado. On weekends, you might find her performing at a destination mountain wedding or playing with her bluegrass-punk band, Moonstone Quill. When she’s not holding a violin, Amber enjoys teaching yoga (500 RYT), weightlifting, practicing BJJ/MMA, skateboarding, or playing board games with her husband.

You can read more about Amber on her website. 

Gill has been playing the cello for over 20 years. She has enjoyed performing throughout Arizona with The Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera, West Valley Symphony, and Tucson Repertory Orchestra, with whom she toured Japan for a series of concerts in 2015.

Paul Trainor is a Denver native who grew up very involved in the Suzuki programs around the area.

He is winner of multiple concerto competitions, including with Hillsdale College, his alma mater, and with the Kent Philharmonic in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

While in undergrad, he began teaching private lessons, a practice that has continued to this day and which helped him in his role as an adjunct instructor in music at Hillsdale the year after graduating. He also served as a chamber and orchestra sectional coach, a practice that he has grown a strong passion for. While in Michigan, he participated in a wide variety of music genres, including Gregorian chant and traditional hymns, jazz, Broadway musicals, and pop.

He currently is studying cello at the graduate level under Matthew Zalkind at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, and serves as principal cellist of the Lamont Symphony Orchestra.